What do groups need to know about ICT?
Introduction
Every time you develop a project or work with people setting up a new group do you think about how
computers and other technology are going to be used by the group?
When developing a new project it’s important to have robust and sustainable technology at its heart and
for it to be well equipped for delivery of a high quality of service.
This article covers the stages from computer basics, total cost of ownership, the internet and the day to
day use of technology with the group.
Where to begin?
So you’ve started up a new community group, a formal organisation or a new network and you need to
know what you’ll need to get started and function in these ever increasing digital times.
Let’s see if we can help make it simple.
Who is going to use the computer, to do what exactly?
Most of us start off thinking that the first thing we’ll need is a computer. Fair point, but before you start to
think about technical bits on these things you need a clear idea about why you want a computer or
laptop, and what exactly it will be used for.
A good, well-thought-out ICT plan (what you’re going to do, how, when and why)
Management support and effective ICT policies and systems in place
Back-up and disaster recovery plan
Time for staff to share ideas, maintain websites and databases
It is important that you know who is going to use the computer and what they will they be using it for. You
don’t need a computer costing much more than £600 because the chances are you’re not going to be
playing high graphic computer games or creating 3D models! Today the capacity of computers on sale is
matched to the software they are supplied with which will exceed the needs of the normal user. Don’t get
too bogged down with processors, memory size, connectors, hard disk capacity and graphics
capabilities.
But as a guide, at March 2010 an adequate laptop or desktop computer should have a minimum 250
Gigabytes hard disk and 2Gigabytes of RAM memory.
Buying the ICT Equipment
Depending on how you operate your group, a laptop may be useful and more practical for safe storage,
especially if you don’t yet have a fixed office location. A desktop might be better if you do have an office
as long-term usage of a laptops smaller keyboard and screen is not the best for health reasons.
A computer (and software) for every member of staff who needs one
Sufficient training for staff to do their job and perform their key tasks
There is a lot of equipment out there and you can pick up a laptop of perfectly adequate specification for
around £400 at any of the major retailers. Don’t necessarily go straight to a ‘high street name’ though
(although they remain very competitive for prices) check out what the big supermarket chains have too
as well as the all-important local computer store who can often get surprising good deals. Also ask
around for who may be providing recycled equipment in your area.
A computer network for all organisations with more than five staff, to enable information sharing
If you already have a large space to operate from or if your group will perhaps run training courses or do
online group activities, you will probably need to consider networking the computers together to share a
broadband internet connection and to all have access to a printer. Networking just means joining up all of
the computers using either cabling or a wireless connection. Again, it doesn’t have to be complicated
and there are ICT Support organisations around who will freely advise you on what would be best for
your purposes and offer a quote. For around £150 a wireless network can be installed and set up which
will give internet access for up to about 10 computers.
Software
When you buy a less expensive computer or laptop it will come with the operating system installed but
there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. It may have a package or bundle that includes a
list of various software but most of it will be stuff you don’t need or want or trial versions (e.g. 3 months)
of software. You need to think about software for word processing, maybe newsletter production,
outcome reporting or a database etc. Legally you must have a licence for each computer. Don’t buy one
licence and install it on a number of computers. That is illegal!
Reliable and suitable office software for your group to function
A database to store, share and access information
Do consider Open Source software. You can download this for free and it often has just the same
features as the big names. Find out about Open Office for example which has an equivalent of all of the
main Microsoft Office programs. For more info about this go to www.opensource.org or www.osalt.com
which provide comparisons to proprietary systems.
Managed ICT security – anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls
The other important thing is anti-virus software such as Norton or McAfee etc. And bear in mind that
subscriptions for these will need to be updated each year so you’ll need to include it in your running
costs.
Internet Access
Let’s accept that you need to get ‘online’. You need to do this because it will help you tremendously to let
the world know you are there. It will make it easy to find other groups like yours, to share experiences
and knowledge and most importantly, give ready access to the people you wish to help and support.
Communications that support the organisation and mission
A database to store, share and access information
A website to publicise and share information
It’s all about communication, the ‘C’ in ICT. You will find your job far easier to do if you can email, tell
your story via a website and join networks and have conversations with people who share your goals.
You’ll need internet access so you will need to consider both start-up costs and on-going costs for both
the phone line and internet provision. There are loads of packages and Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
so do some research and ask for advice. There are some good deals available on either a monthly
contract or with a Pay As You Go package. You may also find useful a 3G broadband ‘dongle’ which is a
USB device that gives you broadband when out and about with your laptop.
Consider how communication using social media can make the work you do more effective. Rather than
presenting a ‘flat’ one-way web presence, social media allows you to form two-way partnerships and
have conversations with your supporters and listen to your clients.
If vulnerable people are going to use your computers and internet access you should get advice on
keeping them safe. A good place to start is www.getsafeonline.org.
What else?
Buying a medium priced colour printer that can photocopy could be useful for your group. Ink cartridges
can be expensive so consider this if you want to produce good quality newsletters as it might be worth
the cost. Cheaper ink-jet printers may not be up to the job of high volume usage. Don’t even think about
ink cartridge refill outfits, they may be a fraction of the cost of buying the named brand cartridges but are
often of inferior quality, very prone to leaking and ruining your printer.
Printers, scanners and back-up devices
Consumables (new printer cartridges/toners, disks etc) available as needed
Digital cameras are available for about £30 these days and often include software for editing the photos.
Digital video camera’s can be found for as low as £100 and likewise, come with editing software to help
you get your video’s refined and even posted online to showcase what you do.
What about a website?
Gone are the days when ‘solutions consultants’ could charge £20k for creating a website for you. There
are reputable organisations out there that can do you a website for as little as £200. This has been made
possible in recent years due to the availability of Open Source web software. What this means is that
community driven programmers and designers all over the world have for some time now been
collaborating to make freely available various ‘bits’ of websites for example an online calendar, an events
planner or a news bulletin page. So all you have to pay for is someone with the skills to stick together the
bits you’ll need to be able to enable you to get what you want on your website.
Your website pages will sit on a server somewhere out in the big wide world that is owned by an Internet
Service Provider (ISP). This server ‘space’ (called hosting) is normally part of the package when you buy
a domain. Not to get too technical, a domain is the name you choose which comes after the ‘www’ part
of a website address. So for example the BBC own and use the domain of www.bbc.co.uk and we own
and use www.ictchampions.org.uk.
The additional benefit of buying your own domain name is that the package will often come with a lump
of say 10 email addresses to use. So if you purchased for example, hendon-carers.org.uk, you can
create june.smith@ hendon-carers.org.uk or mohammed@ hendon-carers.org.uk. Again, there is a lot of
competition out there so expect to pay no more than around £50 per year for your combined website
hosting, your desired domain name and a bunch of email addresses.
Maintenance and Support
Your ICT equipment will go wrong at some stage or suffer from accidental damage.
Try to get a good warranty period when buying your equipment. Be sure to check if it is included and for
how long? Check if it is covered for on-site repairs or what’s called return to base which means that you
may have a period without the equipment whilst it’s being repaired.
A support contract so when things go wrong your organisation can call for help
Aside from any problems with hardware it‘s important to have an arrangement in place with a local
provider of both strategic and practical technology advice and support – sometimes referred to as a
Circuit Rider. For small groups you may be comfortable just knowing their number should guidance be
required, but for organisations with a handful of computers or more it’s wise to have a formal support
agreement in place covering regular visits to check the computers, respond to problems and plan with
you strategic use of technology.
Onwards and Upwards
These are just some of the things you need to think about but all contribute to better services, greater
return on investment and maximum efficiency. Every organisation and group is different so take time to
make sure you know and get what you need.
As you grow in size there will be more issues to make sure you stay on top of. Some of these are listed
below and we hope to produce further factsheets in the near future to help if you are at this stage.
Visit www.ictchampions.org.uk or www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk for more background reading on each
of these topics.
 IT buying strategy - deciding what you want to do and linking it to the goals of your organisation.
 Requirements specification - what kind of group or organisation are you and what do you need?
A kid's play group will most likely have different requirements from a second tier organisation for
example.
 Buying IT – A comparison of buying direct from stores, suppliers or a third party support
company/consultant, leasing, recycled and donated hardware.
 Internet – More information about getting online and choosing an ISP,
 Websites - domain names, hosting, setting up a basic site yourself using Wordpress or even
Facebook.
 Cloud/software as a service - avoid the cost of IT infrastructure and run your new organisation
from the web.
 Training, health & safety - folks will need inducting in how to use the equipment
 Maintenance - choosing a supplier and budgeting to maintain your IT systems
 Costing/Funding - how to put together a realistic budget.
 Where to go for independent help and support and best prices.
The ICT Champions have produced “ICT answers in a box”, a set of handy reference cards which
provide help and signposting to 50 of the questions most frequently asked by small groups. The ICT
Champions website (www.ictchampions.org.uk) contains these questions where you can also request a
set of the cards – or see your regional ICT Champion for a set.
Finally, the sections covered above are by no means comprehensive because this is intended just to
cover the basics. Technology changes all the time, prices likewise and not least the availability of trusted
services providers to give you good, honest advice.
Do contact your Regional ICT Champion for up to date signposting and support. The chances are; if we
can’t help you we’ll know who can.
Further reading & help;
Websites:
ICT Knowledgebase www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk
Suppliers Directory www.suppliersdirectory.org.uk/
ICT Volunteers www.it4c.org.uk
Discounted software www.ctx.org.uk
Accessibility Help www.abilitynet.org.uk
Open Source www.opensource.org and www.osalt.com
Improving Support www.improvingsupport.org.uk
Get Safe Online www.getsafeonline.org
Getting started online www.onlinebasics.co.uk/
Tactical Tech www.tacticaltech.org/
Guides:
Lasa Managing ICT Guide
www.lasa.org.uk/uploads/publications/ictpublications/computanews_guides/lcgmit.pdf
ICT Publications www.icthub.org.uk/publications
A Guide to Managing ICT www.icthub.org.uk/publications/managing_ict_guide.pdf
Cost and Fund ICT www.icthub.org.uk/publications/How-To-CostFund-ICT_web.pdf
ICT for Trustees www.icthub.org.uk/publications/Nightmare_to_Nirvana.pdf
Improving Support www.improvingsupport.org.uk
Written by: ICT Champions
Issued date: July 2010
Creative Commons License: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales.
(For details see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ )